[HISTORY: As indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 1931-07]
No person shall let to another for occupancy any dwelling or
dwelling unit, for the purpose of living therein, which does not comply
with the requirements in this article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Refer to adult occupants 18 years or older.
A.
In all dwelling units other than rooming units, there shall be a
minimum usable floor area for the initial occupant of 150 square feet
and 100 square feet additional space for each additional occupant
provided, however, that children under the age of two shall not be
considered additional occupants.
B.
In every dwelling unit other than a rooming unit, every room occupied
or intended to be occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant shall
have a minimum usable floor area of 70 square feet and every room
occupied or intended to be occupied for sleeping purposes by more
than one occupant shall have a usable floor area of at least 50 square
feet for each such occupant, provided, however, that children under
the age of two shall not be considered to be additional occupants.
C.
Kitchens, bathrooms and toilet rooms shall not be used for sleeping
purposes.
A.
At least half of the floor area of every habitable room shall have
a ceiling height of at least seven feet and the floor area of that
part of any room where the ceiling height is less than five feet shall
not be considered as part of the floor area in computing the total
floor area of the room for the purpose of determining the maximum
permissible occupancy thereof.
B.
Every habitable basement shall have a minimum ceiling height of at
least seven feet.
A.
No basement space shall be used as a sleeping room or dwelling unit
unless:
(1)
The space conforms to the requirements of the Uniform Construction
Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23–1.1 et seq.;
(2)
The floor and walls are impervious to leakage of underground and
surface runoff water and are insulated against dampness;
(3)
There are no pipes, ducts or other obstructions less than six feet
six inches above the floor level;
(4)
All furnaces or other heating facilities are so located, insulated
and separated from the living area by fire rated partitions or walls
necessary pursuant to the Uniform Construction Code so that the same
does not constitute an undue hazard to the safety and health of the
occupants. Storage of any materials or items shall not occur within
36 inches of any heater or hot water heating unit.
(5)
The means of egress conforms to the Uniform Construction Code, including
those requirements pertaining to sleeping purposes.
B.
An interior room not having its own source of natural light and ventilation
may be used for living purposes, other than sleeping, only where such
room is adjacent to an outside room which has adequate natural light
and ventilation, calculated on the basis of the combined floor area
of the two rooms, and where the separating wall between the two rooms
has a clear horizontal opening, doorway or archway at least six feet
wide.
All sleeping rooms must have access via a common hallway.
All rental units in the Township shall have at least one smoke
detector on each floor level and a carbon monoxide detector within
10 feet of each bedroom. The carbon monoxide detector is not to be
located in a bedroom, but is to be located in the hallway area adjacent
to the bedroom.
A.
Safe exitway. Every dwelling unit shall have a safe and unobstructed
means of exit leading to a safe and open space at ground level accessible
to a street, conforming to the requirements of the Uniform Construction
Code.
B.
Direct access to exitway. Access to any exit required by this article
shall not necessitate passage through any other dwelling unit or part
thereof, nor shall any exit be subject to locking by any device which
impedes or prohibits ready exit.
[Adopted by Ord. No. 1932-07; amended in its entirety 7-19-2022 by Ord. No. 2428-22]
Unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, the
following words or phrases when used in this article shall have the
following meanings:
The individual or individuals designated by the owner as
the person(s) authorized by the owner to perform any duty imposed
upon the owner by this article. They are defined by N.J.S.A. 45:15-3;
however, such term may include a licensed real estate broker or salesman
if such person designated by the owner as his agent is so licensed.
Term does not necessarily mean a licensed real estate broker or salesman
as those terms are defined by N.J.S.A. 45:15-3; however, such term
may include a licensed real estate broker or salesman of the State
of New Jersey if such person designated by the record owner as his
agent's so licensed.
Two or more buildings, each containing two or more apartments,
which are located within close proximity of each other and are owned
by the same owner.
Any apartment, cottage, bungalow, single-family dwelling,
any room or rooms in a rooming/boarding house, or other dwelling unit
consisting of one or more rooms occupying all or part of a floor or
floors in a building, whether designed with or without housekeeping
facilities for dwelling purposes, except that this article shall not
apply to an owner-occupied residential dwelling in which up to two
bedrooms are rented, provided such rooms are not accessed by separate
entrance, not utilized by the other residents of the dwelling. This
definition shall apply notwithstanding whether the apartment be designed
for residence, for office, or the operation of any industry or business,
or for any other type of independent use.
A change in the tenant renting a rental unit.
The license issued by the Municipal Clerk attesting that
the rental unit has been properly registered in accordance with this
article and inspected for a certificate of occupancy.
The person to whom the license is issued pursuant to this
article. The term "licensee" includes within its definition the term
"agent" where applicable.
Any person or group of persons, firm, corporation or officer
thereof, partnership, association, or trust, who owns, operates, exercises
control over or is in charge of a rental facility.
An individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association,
trust or other legal entity, or any combination thereof.
Every building, group of buildings or a portion thereof which
is kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to be a place where
living accommodations are supplied, whether furnished or unfurnished,
for pay or other consideration, to one or more individuals and is
meant to include apartments and apartment complexes.
A dwelling unit which is available for lease or rental purposes
and is meant to include individual apartments located within apartment
complexes.
All rental units shall hereafter be registered with the Lawrence
Township Municipal Clerk on forms which shall be provided for that
purpose and which shall be obtained from the Municipal Clerk's
office. Such registration shall occur on an annual basis as provided
herein.
A.
Each rental unit shall be registered and licensed annually and upon
each change in tenancy. Any rental unit located in an apartment complex
with on-site maintenance personnel and on-site management may, at
the discretion of the Fire Official, submit an affidavit in lieu of
on-site inspection by the Fire Official.
(1)
The Fire Official, under the Division of Housing, may designate inspections
and other functions under this article to a designee.
B.
The license shall expire one year from the date of issuance. Any
lease which has been executed prior to the adoption of the ordinance
codified in this article shall not be affected, but the rental unit
must nevertheless be registered [inspected] and licensed in accordance
with this article. No rental unit shall hereafter be rented unless
the rental unit is registered and licensed in accordance with this
article.
Without in any way intending to infringe upon the requirements
of N.J.S.A. 46:8-28, all rental units shall be registered and licensed
as provided herein with the Lawrence Township Municipal Clerk. Every
owner shall file with the Municipal Clerk a registration form for
each unit contained within a building or structure which shall include
the following information, but in no case shall a post office box
be accepted in lieu of a street address where an address is required:
A.
The name and address, including the dwelling unit number, of each
occupant or tenant occupying the rental unit together with a copy
of the lease for the premises;
B.
The name and address of the record owner or owners of the premises
and the record owner or owners of the rental business if not the same
persons. In a case of a partnership, the names and addresses of all
general partners shall be provided, together with the telephone numbers
for each of such individuals indicating where such individuals may
be reached, both during the day and evening hours. If the record owner
is a corporation, the name and address of the registered agent and
corporate officers of the corporation, together with the telephone
numbers for each of such individuals indicating where such individual
may be reached, both during the day and evening hours;
C.
If the address of any record owner is not located in the Township,
or in Mercer County, the name and address of person who resides in
Mercer County and who is authorized to accept notices from a tenant
and to issue receipts therefore and to accept service of process on
behalf of the record owner;
D.
The name and address of the agent of the premises, if any;
E.
The names and address, including dwelling unit numbers of the superintendent,
janitor, custodian and other individual employed by the owner or agent
to provide regular maintenance service, if any;
F.
The name, address and telephone number of an individual representative
of the owner or agent who may be reached or contacted at any time
in the event of any emergency affecting the premises or any unit of
dwelling space therein, including such emergencies as the future of
any essential service or system, and who has the authority to make
emergency decisions concerning the building and any repair thereto
or expenditure in connection therewith;
G.
The name and address of every holder of a recorded mortgage on the
premises;
H.
If fuel oil is used to heat the building and the landlord furnishes
the heat in the building, the name and address of the fuel oil dealer
servicing the building and the grade of fuel oil used;
I.
As to each rental unit, a specification of the exact number of sleeping
rooms contained in the rental unit. In order to satisfy the requirement
of this provision, an owner shall include a floor plan as a part of
the application, which shall be attached to the registration from
by the Municipal Clerk; and
J.
Such other information as may be prescribed by the Township.
The Municipal Clerk shall index and file the registration forms
and make them reasonably available for public inspection. In doing
so, the Municipal Clerk shall follow the mandates of N.J.S.A. 46:8-28.1
as amended and supplemented so that the filing of the registration
form will simultaneously satisfy the registration requirements of
N.J.S.A. 46:8-28 to the extent that it applies to the property being
registered and will also satisfy the registration requirements of
this article.
Every person required to file a registration form pursuant to
this article shall file an amended registration form, with the Municipal
Clerk, within 20 days after any change in the information required
to be included therein. No fee shall be required for the filing of
an amendment except where the ownership of tenancy of the premises
is changed.
A.
Each rental unit shall be inspected at least once in every twenty-four-month
period and upon each change in tenancy, for the purposes of the issuance
of a certificate of inspection.
B.
Inspections of rental units in apartment complexes with on-site maintenance
and on-site management may, in the discretion of the Fire Official,
submit a sworn affidavit instead of an on-site inspection.
(1)
The sworn affidavit shall include, but is not limited to, information
determining that the apartment complex is in compliance with all Township
zoning ordinances, that the apartment complex is in compliance with
the International Property Maintenance Code and any other information
that the Fire Official believes is imperative. Failure of the apartment
complex to submit an affidavit after request of the Fire Official
will be considered an unsatisfactory inspection of this chapter.
C.
Such inspection shall be performed by such person, persons or agency
duly authorized and appointed by the Fire Official. Inspections made
by persons or an agency other than the duly authorized and appointed
person, persons or agency of the Township, shall not be used as a
valid substitute.
D.
Such inspection shall be for the purpose of determining zoning ordinance
compliance, and to the extent applicable, to determine if the property
complies with the International Property Maintenance Code. Upon compliance,
the Fire Official shall cause to be issued a certificate of inspection
pursuant to Lawrence Township Administrative Code.
E.
Unsatisfactory inspection. In the event that the inspection(s) of
a rental unit indicates the need for maintenance and/or repairs, such
property shall not thereafter be registered, nor shall a license issued,
and the owner of the property, or his agent, shall not lease or rent
such property, nor shall any tenant occupy the property until the
necessary maintenance, repairs and corrections have been made so as
to bring the property and rental unit into compliance with the applicable
code(s) and the property is thereafter subsequently reinserted, approved,
registered and licensed. In the event that the property is occupied
when such conditions are discovered, all such corrections shall be
made within 30 days, and if not made within that time period, the
owner shall be deemed in violation of this article and every day that
the violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct violation,
subject to the penalty provisions of this chapter.
A.
The inspection officers under the Division of Housing are hereby
authorized to make inspections to determine the condition of rental
facilities, and rental units in order that they may promote the purposes
of this article to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the
occupants of rental facilities and rental units and of the general
public. For the purpose of making such inspection the inspecting officers
shall be vested with the authority set forth in the Lawrence Township
Municipal Code. The owner or occupant of every rental facility and
rental unit shall give the inspecting officer free access to the rental
unit at all reasonable times for the purpose of such inspections,
examinations and surveys.
B.
Every occupant shall give the owner of the rental unit access to
any part of such rental facility and rental unit at all reasonable
times for the purpose of making such repairs or alterations as are
necessary to effect compliance with the provisions of this article
or any lawful order issued pursuant thereto.
C.
Complaints. Within 10 days of receipt of a complaint alleging a reported
violation of this article, an inspecting officer shall conduct an
inspection as provided herein.
No person shall hereafter occupy any rental unit, nor shall
the owner permit occupancy of any rental unit with the Township, which
is not registered and licensed and for which a certificate of inspection
has not been issued in accordance with this article.
Upon the filing of a completed registration form, payment of
the prescribed fee and a satisfactory inspection, the owner shall
be entitled to the issuance of a license commencing on the date of
issuance and expiring on the same date of the next calendar year.
A registration form shall be required for each rental unit, and a
license shall be issued to the owner for each rental unit, even if
more than one rental unit is contained in the property.
At the time of the filing of the registration form, and prior
to the issuance of a license, the owner or agent of the owner must
pay a fee in accordance with the following.
A.
For each inspection of multiple dwelling units pursuant to § 322-15, the following fees are established:
|
Number of Units
|
Cost per unit
|
|---|---|
|
For Units 1 through 7
|
$33 per unit
|
|
For Units 8 through 24
|
$21 per unit
|
|
For Units 25 through 48
|
$18 per unit
|
|
For Units 49 and up
|
$12 per unit
|
B.
No re-inspection fee shall be charged for any re-inspection after
a notice of failure.
Every owner shall provide each occupant or tenant occupying
a rental unit with a copy of the registration form required by this
article. This particular provision shall not apply to any hotel, motel
or guest house registered with the State of New Jersey pursuant to
the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Act as defined in N.J.S.A. 55:13A-3.
This provision may be complied with by posting a copy of the registration
certificate in a conspicuous place within the rental unit(s).
No rental unit may be registered and no license shall be issued
for any property containing a rental unit unless all municipal taxes,
water and sewer charges and any other municipal assessments are paid
on a current basis.
All dwelling units shall be maintained in accordance with the
Code of the Lawrence Township, Housing Standards.[1]
A.
Compliance with other laws. The maintenance of all rental facilities
and the conduct engaged in upon the premises by occupants and their
guests shall at all times be in full compliance with all applicable
ordinances and regulations of the Township with all applicable state
and federal law, including laws pertaining to underage drinking and
controlled substances.
A.
Grounds. In addition to any other penalty prescribed herein, an owner
may be subject to the revocation or suspension of the license issued
hereunder upon the happening of one or more of the following:
B.
Procedure; written complaint; notice; hearing.
(1)
A complaint seeking the revocation or suspension of a license may
be filed by any one or more of the following: Director of Public Safety,
Chief of Police, Construction Official, Fire Official, Housing Inspector
or the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Such complaint shall be in writing
and filed with the Municipal Clerk. The complaint shall be specific
and shall be sufficient to apprise the licensee of the charges so
as to permit the licensee to present a defense. The person filing
the complaint may do so, on the basis of information and belief and
need not rely on personal information.
(2)
Upon the filing of such written complaint, the Municipal Clerk shall
immediately inform the Township Council and a date for a hearing shall
be scheduled which shall not be sooner than 10 nor more than 30 days
thereafter. The Municipal Clerk shall forward a copy of the complaint
and a notice as to due date of the hearing to the licensee and the
agent, if any, at the address indicated on the registration form.
Service upon the agent shall be sufficient.
(3)
The hearing required by this subsection shall be held before the
Township Council unless, in its discretion, the council determines
that the matter should be heard by a hearing officer who shall be
appointed by the Council. If the matter is referred to a hearing officer,
such officer shall transmit his/her findings of fact and conclusions
of law to the Council within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
The Council shall then review the matter and may accept, reject, or
modify the recommendations of the hearing officer based on the record
before such hearing officer. In the event that the matter is not referred
to a hearing officer and is heard by the Township Council, then the
Council shall render a decision within 30 days of the conclusion of
the hearing. The decision shall either dismiss the complaint, revoke
or suspend the license, or determine that the license shall be renewed
or reissued for one or more subsequent license years.
(4)
The hearing shall be taped. If determined to be necessary, the Council
may have a stenographic transcript prepared. All witnesses shall be
sworn prior to testifying. The strict rules of evidence shall not
apply. All relevant evidence shall be admissible. The burden of proof
shall be that which generally controls administrative hearings.
(5)
The Township Attorney or his designee shall appear on behalf of the
complainant in all hearings conducted pursuant to this article.
C.
Defenses.
(1)
It shall be a defense to any proceeding for the revocation, suspension
or other disciplinary action involving a rental license by demonstrating
that the owner has taken appropriate action and has made a good faith
effort to abate the conditions including bringing the condition of
the property in compliance with applicable codes or circumstances
giving rise to the revocation proceeding, including, but not limited
to, the institution of legal action against the tenant(s), occupant(s)
or guests for recovery of the premises; eviction of the tenant(s)
or otherwise.
A.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, unless
another penalty is provided, shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a
fine of no less than $100, and no more than $2,000 or imprisonment
for any term, not exceeding 90 days, or a period of community service
not exceeding 90 days, for the violation thereof.
B.
In a municipal court proceeding a landlord shall not be found to
be in violation of this article during such period of time as the
landlord shall be proceeding to evict the tenants in accordance with
all statutory procedures pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, et seq.
